Chelsea and Manchester United have certainly waged some epic transfer battles with one another over the years. Romelu Lukaku is one of the many that comes to mind. Next up is Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, and the bidding starts at £60 million, according to Team Talk.
Remember, the bidding only starts there, so the final hammer price will be much higher than that.
It’s already a significant mark-up from last summer, when Chelsea were ready to pay a fee of close to £40 million.
And Olise was already drawing interest from United, even prior to the INEOS takeover, so he is no doubt going to be one of the club’s top targets this window. United definitely need to upgrade in the attack, especially so on the wing, with Antony being a total flop and Jadon Sancho leaving the club. According to the Team Talk report, United are said to be leading the way in the race to sign Olise, but don’t count Chelsea out yet.
With Stamford Bridge dropping their interest in Victor Osimhen, they’ll focus their interest on other forwards, and Olise is certainly at the top of their list.
Plus, as we’ve already seen multiple times, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital know how to spend. Basically they know how to bludgeon all opposition in the transfer market by simply splashing the cash at a level that is far far above everyone else.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.